Greater Manchester will be one of seven mayoral authorities to receive at least £30 million in funding as part of an £86bn government investment into science and technology.
The announcement comes ahead of next week’s Spending Review, where the Chancellor will make clear that investing in Britain’s renewal will deliver change for working people and their communities.
The new funding will build on work already underway to transform local communities through the Innovation Accelerator pilot scheme – a new funding approach and partnership between local authorities and government.
It has supported new technology developed by the Greater Manchester advanced diagnostic accelerator, delivering quicker and cheaper detection for liver, heart and lung diseases, whilst Moonbility from the West Midlands is using AI software helping train companies to simulate, in real time, potential disruption to the network so they can alert passengers on delay length, giving advice on replanning journeys.
Alongside this, nearly £5m is being invested to kickstart a new partnership between the high-growth regions of Manchester and Cambridge, strengthening the link between these hubs of innovation to attract more business investment, and pilot new approaches to collaboration, setting examples for cities, universities and governments worldwide.
Reeves said: “Britain is the home of science and technology. Through the plan for change”, we are investing in Britain’s renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off.”
Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, said:
“R&D is the very foundation of the breakthroughs that make our lives easier and healthier – from new medicines enabling us to live longer, more fulfilled lives to developments in AI giving us time back, from easing our train journeys through to creating the technology we need to protect our planet from climate change.”
